


Zoo AU

by RoseDragon529



Category: Bugsnax (Video Game)
Genre: Buddy uses he/they pronouns, F/F, F/M, I know nothing about how a zoo actually works behind the scenes, M/M, Other, Unplanned Pregnancy, inspired by designs on a tumblr blog, link will be in the first chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:28:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29420118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseDragon529/pseuds/RoseDragon529
Summary: After Snaktooth, the expedition Grumpuses believed their adventures are over. They are proven wrong when they wake up on a strange new world in strange new world. And what are these strange creatures that are so intent on studying them?
Relationships: Eggabell Batternugget/Elizabert Megafig, Filbo Fiddlepie/The Journalist, Floofty Fizzlebean & Snorpy Fizzlebean, Gramble Gigglefunny/Wiggle Wigglebottom, Snorpy Fizzlebean/Chandlo Funkbun, Triffany Lottablog/Wambus Troubleham
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	1. Transformed

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by designs by this blog on Tumblr:
> 
> http://tinyangrynerd.tumblr.com
> 
> I love their more animalistic designs for the grumpuses.
> 
> My designs for this AU are similar, but here the grumpuses are more quadrupedal, a bit more animal-like. I unfortunately don't have them drawn yet, there will be an update if that ever happens.
> 
> If I had to compare what they're like to irl animals, think similar to a bear and a big cat.

Buddy woke up with a start. Another nightmare, like they haven't had enough of those recently. He scoffed, looking over at Filbo, who lied next to him, before noticing he looked... Different. In fact, everything looked different. They were outside, when Buddy was certain they had fallen asleep in Filbo's room the night before. They tried getting up, but fell over when their limbs didn't move like how they were used to. He stared at himself, taking in his new claws and extended limbs. He tried getting up again, this time successfully, and stared out over a whole bunch of other grumpuses who were in the same state he had been in minutes ago. As he sat there, soaking in all the new sensations his heightened senses and changed instincts were causing, he saw another grumpus wake up. He saw the smaller pink grumpus experience the same trouble getting up as he did, before they made eye contact, and Gramble began to scream...

~*~*~

"So, what should we do now?"

The question came from Filbo, who sat besides Buddy. A few minutes had passed, and after Gramble woke everyone up they all took the few minutes to get used to their new bodies and figure out how to move. Unfortunately, most of the belongings they had on them didn't change when they did, and appeared to have gotten shredded or damaged. Most of the hats stayed intact, and luckily for Floofty, so did their prosthetic leg. Both of the Fizzlebean siblings still had their glasses as well, even if Snorpy's had a crack in one of the lenses. All in all, they were safe and sound, even if hopelessly confused.

Lizbert spoke up. "We should get our bearings, try and figure out where we are."

"And try and find some food- I'm starving!" Cromdo piped up, with some of the others echoing his sentiments.

And with that, they set off, traversing the alien but oh-so-similar landscape, still awkward in their new forms.

~*~*~

"Grumping hell I'm starving"

It had been about a week since they woke up in their new bodies, and while they had gotten used to moving, there was a new problem they had to contend with: finding enough food. They were larger than they used to be, and with a larger size came a larger need for food and energy. Early on they found some fruiting trees, but there hadn't been enough to last everyone for long. So they tried turning to hunting. Their teeth had stayed mostly the same through their transformation, leaving everyone to assume they were still omnivores. However, the local prey- rabbits and squirrels- proved to be a bit too wily for anyone to catch. They weren't used enough to their new forms to run too fast, and they couldn't lie in wait to ambush because they had no camouflage. So they were stuck scraping by on fruit.

Suddenly, Buddy heard a soft thud. They pricked their ears up and looked around, getting Filbo's attention.

"What do you hear?"  
"It's probably nothing, probably just an acorn falling" Buddy gestured vaguely to the trees around where the group had set up camp. They settled back down, Filbo settling down with them, nuzzling gently behind their ears. Buddy began to purr, before hearing a scream from the other side of the clearing. Both grumpuses jumped up, running over as fast as they could.

"WIGGLE!!!"

They saw Wiggle fall over, Gramble joining her, with camouflaged figures coming through the trees. At Lizbert's shout of "SCATTER!" Everyone ran, splitting off in different directions. Buddy and Filbo saw Beffica go down, before Buddy got hit by an unseen assailant. They fell to the ground, the energy quickly getting sapped out of them, their mind becoming foggy. Before they passed out, they saw Filbo fall, and with how they were positioned, Buddy could see an odd thing sticking out of Filbo's back.

"Is that... A tranq..?"

But before they could figure it out any further, they blacked out, the last sound they hear being that of their attackers' footsteps getting closer.


	2. Capture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Language barriers, misunderstandings, and separations, oh my.

Lizbert slowly blinked her eyes open, warily looking around as the blurriness faded. She couldn't move, but she could feel restraints on her limbs when she tried. She heard beeps and clicks around her, but couldn't quite pinpoint where they were coming from. She was in an all-white room, stuck on a table, with wires and cables attached to her. Suddenly, she spotted something strange. It was one of the strangest creatures she had ever seen, bipedal, stick-thin and appeared to be nearly completely bald, except for a long shock of hair on its head. It was dressed in a lab coat, and holding a clipboard. 

Lizbert could tell she was in some kind of hospital, so obviously these creatures must be intelligent. She tried speaking up.

"Hey... Who are you? Where am I?"

Lizbert watched as the strange creature jolted, dropping the clipboard with a clatter. She saw as they backed up, reaching for a walkie-talkie on their belt. She heard muffled chattering, but her hearing was still too unfocused to hear quite what was being said. She heard someone else come in the room behind her, but was unable to turn and look. She yawned, feeling a sudden wave of drowsiness wash over her...

~*~*~

Lizbert woke up again, this time surrounded by other grumpuses, all in a similar state to her own, drowsy and waking up slowly. As she looked around, she saw that they were all in a large cage, divided in half down the middle. She observed that all the girls were in one half, and all the boys in the other. She also observed that Floofty was absolutely stewing over being placed with the "girls" and that Gramble was no where to be seen. Everyone else was accounted for though, even as they were missing everything they had held to their names.

Suddenly, a loud noise drew the attention of everyone towards the front of the cage, where two more of those creatures came out from behind a large curtain draped a distance away.

"I gotta hand it to you, these creatures are really something. Where'd you find them again?"  
"Our team found them in the middle of nowhere, and from the vets' physical evaluation we found that they weren't very adept at surviving."  
"So what's the current theory? And what's with the technicolor fur? Dyed, I assume."  
"Actually no, we thought that, but the colors go down skin-deep. The current theory is they were some kinda science experiment by some eccentric kook out in the area, and that they escaped and have been failing at surviving. The accessories we found with them support that theory, they weren't exactly natural."  
"You sure we should house them here?"  
"They'll bring in visitors, and give us a chance to study them."  
"What about that small pink one?"  
"We can put him in the petting zoo, bring in more families with kids. He's too small and docile to do harm."

"Ex-CUSE me! You cannot put my darling Gramble in a petting zoo!"  
"And let us out of this cage! If you want to study us, you could just ask us questions!"  
"Yeah! Let us out!"

As more and more grumpuses voiced their objections, getting closer to the front of the cage, the two creatures stepped back.

"You sure they're not dangerous?"  
"Anyone who sticks their hand in a cage at the zoo is begging to get it bitten off. Still, we'll put up some extra fencing, a sign saying to not poke them, and then we can't be sued."

The grumpuses looked between themselves in confusion.

"Can't they understand us? We can understand them!"  
"I guess however we can understand them doesn't go both ways."  
"What do they look like?" Floofty piped up, "I can't see a thing without my glasses."  
"Uh, mostly bald, some kinda hair or fur or something on their heads, walking on two legs?"  
"Humans," Snorpy growled out, clinging to Chandlo as to not get separated, being in a similar state to his sibling.  
"Humans?"  
"Yes, a while back I found a piece of technology from another world, and I'd been studying it. From your description, it sounds like these might be humans. And from what they said, it sounds like they believe we're just animals."

The sobering words fell over the group as the humans walked away, speaking of visitor attendance and profits and other things not pertaining to the grumpuses' current state. They explored their new surroundings, finding piles of hay and some large portions of meat. 

"These must be what constitutes as beds and rations around here."  
"At least it's some food, we haven't eaten since... How long were we out for?"

No one knew, although most felt it couldn't have been more than a day or two. They spent the remainder of that day and the next searching every inch of their new environment, even as humans bustled around loudly behind the curtain, searching for any possible weak point, any possible means of escape, but coming up empty until exhaustion got the better of them. As they laid down on small piles of hay, partners pairing up together, Triffany and Wambus staying as close as they could through the divide, Lizbert tried her best to force any shakiness out of her voice as she whispered to Eggabell.

"Bell... I know this is bad, but we've been through worse, we'll figure out something."  
Eggabell pressed a small kiss to her wife's muzzle and echoed her sentiments. "We always do. Even if we have to become the two heads of some kind of hydra thing."

They shared a quiet laugh as sleep finally claimed them, staying embraced throughout their slumber.


End file.
